Top Ten Tuesday: Recently added to the TBR list

Today the gals at The Broke and Bookish Blog asked us to make our Top Ten Tuesday about books from a specific genre that we have added to our TBR! This is a really fun challenge because there are so many genre’s out there that all the lists will be incredibly unique. My TBR is all over the place so I decided to do this week’s challenge about Foreign Translated Books on my TBR.

I’m a sucker for a good translated book, and recently I’ve been eyeing them like crazy–there is something truly magical about reading a book that was written in a different language. The real beauty here is that books are so unique and yet so universal that even when they jump from language to language the ideas and the philosophies can be understood and discussed–ah, the beauty of words.

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Every time I look at the beautiful turquoise copy of War and Peace on my bookshelves, my desire to read it grows stronger–what’s stopping me? Well, it’s over 1,000 pages long, that’s what. However, I’ve recently become addicted to the new broadway musical “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812” which is about one of the love stories woven within this massive book. It has made me determined now to pick it up and read it!

2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I don’t know much about this book aside from the glowing reviews and the amazing cover. I’m really looking forward to reading it!

3. The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

When I heard this book and it’s sequels were similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I was sold! I just got it on Audiobook for my trip this weekend, and I’m so excited!

4. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

I have read very few books translated from Italian, and I’m looking forward to seeing the difference in styles, especially compared to old French writers.

5. Laurus by Evgenji Vodolazkin

This is probably my most anticipated read of this year. This is a newer book, but is said to resemble Russian classics in style, philosophy, and complexity.

6. We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen

This one also had some amazing reviews, plus the description looks so intriguing!

7. The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo

I’ve been meaning to read more Victor Hugo, and I added this one to the list mainly because I had never heard of it before. It looks beautiful.

8. Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

This is apparently a book everyone needs to read, and I’ve heard it’s a literary beauty.

9. The Emigrants by Vilhem Moberg

This is a story of a Scandinavian family who immigrants to Canada. I love these types of stories and I’m interested in reading this series and hear their story!

10. The Big Green Tent by Lyudmilla Ulitskaya

Surprise! Another Russian novel! I have a problem, but it’s definitely a good problem to have! This book, I heard, is terribly sad, yet very good. It is about post-Stalin Russia, which isn’t as common in novels as other time periods in Russia.

There you have it! My top ten most anticipated translated books! Should I add any others to the list? Let me know!

You have a good list here! Unfortunately, I have not enjoyed Shadow of the Wind. Like, that’s an understatement. I did start Swann’s Way but somehow put it on hold too. War and Peace is on the TBR though 🙂

Oh no! I’m definitely still going to try to read it, but maybe my expectations shouldn’t be so high? War and Peace has been on my list for soooo long!! I just have to read it! Was Swann’s Way any good, the parts you have read, anyway?

Other people liked it, so maybe it’s just me? Could be 🙂 as for Swann’s Way, it was fine, but very deep in though, so I just didn’t feel like I could go for something like that at that moment. It would be no fast read for sure, motlre like a year or two to chew on 🙂

I enjoy Milan Kundera in translation, although he has complained in one of his books that the some publishers of his books in translation have mangled his books by leaving out passages, etc. I was pretty surprised to read that, given how much thought a writer like Kundera puts in the construction of his books.